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Had a connector pin back out on me mid-flight and it changed how I prep harnesses now

I was troubleshooting a intermittent avionics bus error on a King Air last Tuesday at KMEM and found a pin that worked its way loose from a D-sub shell. Now I give every connector a tug test before I close it up and I haven't had that issue since. Anyone else ever deal with pin retention problems on older aircraft?
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3 Comments
dianaanderson
Oh man, you bet I have. It's the worst feeling pulling a connector apart and seeing that pin just sitting there loose, not even doing its job. I swear, on the older birds like that, the plastic in the shells gets brittle and just stops holding onto the pins tight. I do the same exact tug test now, and I even give a little twist to make sure the retention clip is really biting. It's such a simple thing but it saves you from chasing a ghost in the system for hours. Definitely a habit that sticks with you after you've been burned once.
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carr.lee
carr.lee28d ago
Hate that sinking feeling when you find a loose pin, man. Glad you caught it before it got worse, that tug test is a good habit.
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sarah818
sarah81825d ago
Haven't we all pulled a connector apart and found that one pin just staring back like it forgot to clock in?
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